May Day rally: Five have their statements taken
Published on: Tuesday, May 05, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: Five people involved in organising the Himpunan May Day rally here on Saturday were called to have their statements taken at the Karamunsing Police Station from 9.30am to 12.30pm on Monday.They were Bersih Sabah Chairperson Jannie Lasimbang, Wilfred Gaban, Anne Lasimbang, Andrew Ambrose and SM Muthu. Jannie Lasimbang in a statement said that police wanted to record what transpired during the Himpunan May Day, particularly the content of the speeches made as part of the investigation. She said no charges were made on any of those called to give their statement as the organisers of the Himpunan May Day did not breach the police barricade and Kota Kinabalu Police Chief allowed a one-hour period for speeches to be made.
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Bersih Sabah, she said, considered the recording of the statement as part of police procedure and which the investigating officers conducted in a professional manner. "Nonetheless, it also reiterated in their reports that freedom of speech and to assemble peacefully are rights enshrined in the Federal Constitution and that the court order should never have been imposed in the first place," she said. Jannie, who is a former Suhakam Commissioner and a former member of the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples under the Human Rights Council from 2008 to 2013, also said State Community Development and Consumer Affairs Minister (Datuk Jainab) was wrong to label them protestors, adding that she was ignorant of the law and the constitution by saying those who assembled peacefully have broken the law. "Bersih Sabah urge the State Government to be respectful and listen to the people when they bring up issues and give recommendations on how to resolve these instead of constantly denying or belittling people.
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